The Best Arms in the Gym: 3 Steps to Get Big Arms

Show me a guy who is satisfied with his arms and I’ll show you a big fat liar! Also, don’t believe the myth that spending hours in the gym fatiguing those biceps and triceps are a clear way to get big arms. Don’t waste time on exercises that are unarguable “good” for the body, but are simply just not “good enough.” Take the time to learn the following three steps on how to get bigger arms and proudly point the way next time someone asks “which way to the beach?”

Step 1: Take It Easy

That is correct. If training one day is good, then two must be better: not so. Over training is a serious problem, and don’t skim past that last part. Most weight lifting enthusiasts recognize the concept of taking days off; however, just taking a rest day or two is not enough. There are many arm workouts that will produce results, but you must make sure your arms are properly recovering.

• If one trains hard, they must rest hard.

The act of weight lifting in and of itself “tells” the muscles that in order to keep up with the heavy lifting, they must develop. The actual growing of the muscles occurs during rest. If there is not enough down time between training sessions, time is wasted and one becomes frustrated.

What is the Perfect Amount of Rest Between Training Sessions?

In order to make the correct assessment, one must know their body.

• Rest periods are based on body type

Believe it or not, naturally skinny types that find gaining weight at Thanksgiving a challenge need more rest time. Here is a good rule of thumb:

1. For a hard gainer – one arm routine each week.
2. For everyone else, go ahead and exercise the same muscles twice a week with two to three days of rest in between sessions.

Step 2: Eat

Most have noticed by now that a single arm exercise has yet to be introduced. This is not an accident. Picture this: You determined and focused. Training sessions strictly planned and executed, rest days taken, and yet results are minimal weeks into the program, why?

• Don’t bother trying for big arms if following a bodybuilding diet plan is not a substantial part of your training.

Simply, without proper nutrition muscles won’t grow. There are many places where you can find thebest supplements online. More than likely, this is not news. It is common sense to believe that without proper energy, food, muscles refuse to grow. What exactly is “proper nutrition?”

1. For the hard gainer: 50% carbohydrates (half complex and half simple), 25% proteins and 25% fats.
2. For everyone else: 40% carbs, 40% proteins and 20% fats

Important! “When” is Just as Important as “what.”

• The best way to sabotage your efforts is to skip breakfast.

Here are key points explaining “when” to eat:

1. Eat within one hour of waking to “rev” metabolism.
2. Eat every four hours to maintain blood sugar.
3. Eat a meal every four hours, not just a snack.
4. Include some proteins, carbohydrates and fats in each meal to ensure blood sugar does not spike or plummet.

Now that the foundation is laid, we can move on to the fun part: the exercises!

Soon you can do this

Step 3: Get to Work!

Your confidence should be through the roof now that you have a proven system to help germinate those soon-to-be guns.

• Frequently change your routine to train different angles of each muscle which will continually surprise the muscles.

Think of it this way: muscles do not like surprises. When introducing a new exercise, the muscles think “whoa, this is hard; we better build ourselves in order to make sure we can handle this load!” Little do your muscles know, but the load will never get easier since the routine continually changes. The muscles have no choice, but to grow bigger and badder.

This is an example of an arm exercise that is to be performed as stated above with one caveat: do the arm exercises one after another, like a circuit. The body gets fitter faster with this method and burns more fat. Take one minute rest after performing one set in the circuit.

1. Incline Biceps Curls: 3 sets of 8 reps
2. Hammer Curls: 3 sets of 8 reps
3. Overhead Triceps Extensions: 3 sets of 8 reps

1. Triceps Dips: 3 sets of 8 reps
2. Triceps Pushdowns : 3 sets of 8 reps
3. Close Grip Bench Press: 3 sets of 8 reps

That’s all there is to it! Of course, working additional muscles such as shoulders, back and the chest will only enhance your overall appearance. Go ahead and splurge and find additional arm exercises that keep your muscles guessing. Your muscles won’t know what hit them, but they’ll look fantastic.

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